Most of us would like to know the Greek myths better than we do, and books like Seamus Heaney's Beowulf have demonstrated the power of ancient texts to enchant and enthrall us. And yet the modern translations of the Greek myths have sought to instruct, to edify, or to impart a personal philosophy. "Songs on Bronze "is different. With this book, Nigel Spivey--a young Cambridge classicist and rising star as a documentary host--gives us the Greek myths as the spellbinding stories they are. In bold, sensuous prose, he tells of Demeter and Persephone, of Jason and the Argonauts, of the wrath of Achilles and the travels of Odysseus, of Oedipus's crime and Orpheus's excursion into the underworld. In his hands, these stories are revealed anew as outsize tales of love and strife, of secret compacts and open rivalries, of lust and desire. "Songs on Bronze" is a fresh revision of the classics that is likely to become a classic in its own right.

    Some resonate with dragons while others believe they were elves in another life and still others resonate with wolves, great cats and other earthly animals. Whether Otherkin yourself, or simply curious, this book is the first to offer you an in depth look into this unique community.

    From the revelation of fire to mediaeval quests for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, the alchemical path has attracted many great minds.Packed with recipes for herbal elixirs, soothing balms, heady scents, rich pigments, and potent solvents, The Alchemist’s Kitchen will appeal to anyone fascinated by the past and the occult world.From the legendary Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus and Paracelsus’s spagyric medicine, to the ancient science of the four elements and the symbolic associations of mediaeval pigment recipes, this book—illustrated with old engravings and original art—takes you inside mediaeval laboratories and kitchens to explore the sacred secrets of matter.

    Ron Hubbard and many more American cultural icons.We will use advance copies to solicit reviews in national newspapers and magazines, as well as embarking on a radio interview campaign. The author is a well-known journalist and literary critic and interviews extremely well.Gary Lachman was a founder member of Blondie and wrote the group’s early hits. Born in New Jersey and a long-time resident of both New York and Los Angeles, he now lives in London.

    In Seidr: The Gate is Open, Katie Gerrard has contributed a major work on the practices of seidr and trance prophecy, providing a practical manual full of dynamic group rituals and techniques based on known Seidr practices. Foremost amongst these techniques is the prophetic rite of the High Seat, where the Volva (seer) sends her consciousness to the underworld realm of Hel to gain answers to the questions posed to her. Combining more than a decade of research and experimentation, this book is characterised by both its scholarship and its accessibility. Katie Gerrard shares her own experiences on the path of the seer, and also draws inspiration from original sources in the old texts of the Sagas and the Eddas, as well as contemporary researchers and groups working with seidr in Scandinavia, Europe and America. Techniques for achieving trance, levels of trance possession, coming out of trance, the vardlokkurs (chants), necessary equipment, and the requirements for the roles of the different participants, are all discussed in a clear and concise manner, as is the relevance of contacting the ancestors, the dead and the appropriate gods, including the goddesses Freyja and Hel, and the Allfather god Odin. As befits such an inspirational book, the author provides both the relevant background information for the eleven rites contained within, together with explanations of their inclusion and purposes. The rites emanate practical effectiveness, a result of their regular use over many years for successful exploration of the mysteries of trance prophecy, the High Seat rite and Norse witchcraft. "This is a spiritual journey laid bare for an audience who are either already treading a similar path or are looking for guidance in order to follow a well trodden path to a similar end point." * * * * * Katie Gerrard is a writer, researcher, and workshop facilitator with a passion for the magic of Seidr and the Runes. She has been studying the different forms of norse magic and working with norse gods since discovering them in the 1990s. Katie is also the author of Odin's Gateways (about working with the runes) and the forthcoming The Gate is Open (about Seidr and Northern tradition magical techniques), both publised by Avalonia Books. An essay on the High Sear Rite written by Katie Gerrard appeared in the Avalonia anthology 'Priestesses, Pythonesses, Sibyls'. She also regularly hosts seidr and other seer and norse rites within the London (UK) area.

    Designed to give essential background on the current study of folklore and some of the basic concepts and questions used when analyzing folklore, this short, coherent, and approachable handbook is divided into five chapters: What Is Folklore?; What Do Folklorists Do?; Types of Folklore; Types of Folk Groups; and, finally, What Do I Do Now?Through these chapters students are guided toward a working understanding of the field, learn basic terms and techniques, and learn to perceive the knowledge base and discourse frame for materials used in folklore courses. Folklore Rules will appeal to instructors and students for a variety of courses, including introductory folklore and comparative studies as well as literature, anthropology, and composition classes that include a folklore component.

    Honor the spirit of this hallowed harvest holiday with:Halloween magick: Prosperity Pumpkin Spell, Corn Husk Dolly, Solitary Harvest Moon Ritual Magickal goodies: Candied Love Apples, Witches' Brew, Sugar Snakes in Graveyard Dust Halloween myths and superstitions: Black cats, scarecrows, pitchforks, witches, ghosts, and haints Divination: Circle of Ashes and Stones, Magick Mirrors, Apple, Pumpkin Seed, and Water Divination Rituals to Honor the Dead: The Dumb Supper, Samhain Fire, Soul Lights, Spirit Rattles and Spirit Bowls

    Tell My Horse is an invaluable resource and fascinating guide. Based on Zora Neale Hurston’s personal experience in Haiti and Jamaica, where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices during her visits in the 1930s, this travelogue into a dark world paints a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies and customs and superstitions of great cultural interest.

    This legendary underground classic contains absolutely everything worth knowing about absolutely anything. Discordianism is the religion for these screwed-up times, and Principia Discordia reveals it here for your enlightenment, confusion and entertainment.

    The new edition maintains the authors' innovative solutions to two central problems of the course: first, the text continues to focus on about 80 sites, giving students less encyclopedic detail but essential coverage of the discoveries that have produced the major insights into prehistory; second, it continues to be organized into essays on sites and concepts, allowing professors complete flexibility in organizing their courses.

    Appearing as goddess and demon, gate and pillar, garden and tree, hovering sky and containing vessel, the Feminine is seen as an essential factor in the dialectical relation of individual consciousness, symbolized by the child, to the ungraspable matrix, symbolized by the Great Mother.

    Nor is it a collection of bizarre facts, though the Angel of the Bizarre might well find himself at home in it. It is not a scientific contribution, a vehicle for an exotic teaching, a testament, a document, a fable. It is simply an account - at times figurative, at times factual - of a first excursion into some as yet scarcely explored realms of consciousness. The Morning of the Magicians is a classic of radical literature, a book that has challenged assumptions and conventional knowledge for decades. It has shaken the foundations of beliefs all over the world and may be the most influential book published in the twentieth century. Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier spent years searching "through all the regions of consciousness, to the frontiers of science and tradition" and opened their minds to any fact or theory that went beyond the frontier of current theories. The result is this remarkable work, and the stream of possibilities that it contains: Do mutants exist, are they a future form of man? Does extrasensory perception reveal that human consciousness has advanced beyond its currently accepted limits? What connects the ancient art of alchemy and modern atomic physics?

    A Journey to Fulfillment and RenewalIn Essential Asatru, renowned author and priestess Diana Paxson demystifies an ancient, rich, and often misunderstood religion, and offers a practical guide for its modern followers.Filled with clear, concise instructions on living Asatru every day, this truly accessible guide takes you on a journey from Asatru's origins in Scandinavian and German paganism to its acceptance as an official religion in the 1970s.Essential Asatru also includes:• A complete history of Asatru gods and goddesses, including Odin, Thor, and Ostara• The life values, such as honor, truth, fidelity, and hospitality, that shape Asatru's tenets• Indispensable information on rituals, rune casting, ethics, and divinationEssential Asatru is an elegant and splendid introduction to a centuries-old religion that continues to enrich and fascinate its followers today.

    This book reclaims that lost, rich heritage of working with faery folk that our Pagan ancestors took for granted.Edain McCoy teaches how to work with faeries in a mutually beneficial way. Practice rituals and spells in which faeries can participate, and discover tips to help facilitate faery contact. These capricious creatures can help with divination, past life recall, scrying, and spiritual quests. Also included is a dictionary of more than 230 faeries that include goblins, gnomes, elementals, seasonal faeries, and angels.

    But to the people of the Arab and Islamic worlds, the picture is dramatically different. Legends of the Fire Spirits looks beyond Westernized caricatures to immerse the reader in the vibrant lore of the jinn—the wondrous, often troublesome, and sometimes terrifying spirit beings of ancient Arab and Islamic tradition.Robert Lebling delves into long-lost accounts, medieval histories, colonial records, anthropologist’s reports, and traveler’s tales to explore the origin and evolution of legends that continue to thrive in the Middle East and beyond. He cuts through centuries of Orientalists’ cultural presumption to craft a study that stands apart from the overwhelming body of literature concerned with religion in the Middle East.A captivating synthesis of history and folklore, this is the most diverse collection of jinn lore ever assembled in one volume. From ancient scriptures to The Arabian Nights and beyond, and with a foreword by acclaimed filmmaker Tahir Shah, Lebling has constructed a comprehensive account that not only transcends geographical borders but also spans some four millennia.